It's been a while since I've had a Zalman cooler on the bench, and in the past Zalman products have always been some of the higher-end coolers available. The CNPS9300 AT is a mini version of the CNPS9500 (Reviewed Here) and CNPS9700 (Reviewed Here). Like coolers in the past from Zalman, the CNPS in the name stands for "Computer Noise Prevention System", and is approved for use in "Noiseless" computers according to Zalman. The CNPS9300 AT is PWM controlled, which is a nice feature for most users that don't want to have to adjust their fan speed, normally we've seen a lot of Zalman products in the past that ship with the Manual fan speed controller, so the new PWM fan is a nice change.

In this review I will take a look at the Zalman CNPS9300 AT and compare it with other coolers available on the market (Including others from Zalman), and we will see how this cooler compares.

First Impressions:

My first thought was how similar the CNPS9300 AT looks like its "Big Brother", the CNPS9700. The shape and general design of the two is very, very similar. The height of the CNPS9300 AT is 132.5mm, while the 142mm, so the overall height isn't too much different, but that extra 10mm might be enough to squeeze it into a smaller case that you couldn't get the larger CNPS9700 into. The CNPS9300 is 61.35mm by 108mm wide, while the CNPS9700 is 90mm by 124mm wide, so the overall room that the CNPS9300 AT requires is a fair bit less. The smaller size means that the CNPS9300 AT has 2,583cm2 while the CNPS9700 has a hefty 5,490cm2, so there could be a bit of a performance difference between the two.

Let's take a closer look at what the Zalman CNPS9300 AT is all about.

Zalman CNPS9300 AT - Box (Front)

Zalman CNPS9300 AT - Box (Back)

Zalman CNPS9300 AT - Front View

Zalman CNPS9300 AT - Side View

Zalman CNPS9300 AT - Back View

Zalman CNPS9300 AT - Back View

As you can see in the picture below (right), the accessories that come with the Zalman CNPS9300 AT are pretty standard; you've got everything you'll need for installation on either AMD or Intel processors. Unfortunately like most other coolers the CNPS9300 AT comes with a "single application" of thermal paste, it will be enough to get you all installed and rolling, but if you plan on moving the cooler later you'll need to go out and buy yourself a tube of thermal paste.